Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox

Tampa Bay's 98-win regular season sets the stakes: the Rays, the American League's top seed, clinched their fifth AL East title in the second game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, the franchise's earliest clincher, after 128 days in first place. Junior Caminero started all 162 games at third base, something no one had done since Vinny Castilla in 1998. The Red Sox arrive for the first of four at Tropicana Field after firing Alex Cora early in the year, naming Chad Tracy manager through 2029, and reaching the playoffs from 14 games under.500, only to be swept by the Yankees in the wild-card round.